Final Score: Oregon State 29, Arizona 27

Third time's a charm. After losing James Rodgers for the second time in three games, the Beavers finally beat a top-ten ranked team on the road. 

We'll have much more on this game later, but for now, here is your postgame thread. 

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Oregon State at No. 9 Arizona - 4:00 PM PT, Versus

Oregon State travels to Tucson to play their third top-ten ranked opponent of the year on the road. 

The Wildcats were picked by many to finish in the top half of the Pac-10, but they've moved up into the top ten after four wins, including an upset of then No. 9 Iowa. 

Ryan Katz threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns last week against Arizona State, without James Rodgers in the lineup. James returns to the lineup today after sitting out last week to recover from the concussion he suffered at Boise State on September 25.

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

We'll first start with the Pac-10 games:

UCLA at California (12:30pm, FSN)

No. 3 Oregon at Washington State (2:00pm)

Oregon State at No. 9 Arizona (4:00pm, Versus)

UCLA at No. 16 Stanford (5:00pm, ABC)

Arizona State at Washington (7:00pm, FSN-Regional)

Here are other games worth watching:

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Final Score: Oregon State 31, Arizona State 28

Ryan Katz and the offense picked up 260 passing yards without James Rodgers. Jacquizz Rodgers rushed for 145 yards. The pass defense intercepted Steven Threet three times, and Threet was sacked six times. 

From those stats alone, you would think the Beavers dominated Arizona State on Saturday night. 

Oregon State did control almost the entire game, but escaped with just a three point win over Dennis Erickson's Sun Devils. 

The Beavers needed this win to prove that they belong in the Pac-10 conversation after a lackluster showing in non-conference play. Now, they need to go down to Tucson and do the same thing next week.  

All your postgame thoughts here. 

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Oregon State vs. Arizona State - 3:30 PM - FSN NW

It's the Pac-10 opener, and the Beavers need to make a statement.

After going 1-2 in the preseason, the Beavers need to set the record straight that they can knock off teams they should beat. The Sun Devils won't be ranked in the top six like both TCU and Boise State were, but OSU needs to show that they're capable of playing with anyone in their own conference. 

James Rodgers is still a game time decision as he recovers from the concussion he suffered last week in Boise. Can OSU get by without him?

All your game thoughts here. I'll be in Reser along with several other BTD authors, so everyone else: keep the conversation alive!

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

As usual, a panel of BTD contributors have assembled to share their final thoughts in preparation for today's 3:30 PM game with Arizona State. 

Andy

Both Arizona St. and Oregon St. can jump start their Pac-10 Conference season with a win, or risk it becoming a very long one with a loss. Oregon St. has got to stop playing like a SunBelt conference team in terms of total offense generated and allowed, though not playing a top five squad should help.

The Beavers need to stay focused, and make plays. The Sun Devils need to stay focused, and stop making mistakes. Two of the most experienced and respected coaches in the country, never mind the conference, who also just happen to be friends, and  Mike Riley and Dennis Erickson, are in position to lead their teams thru that challenge,quite popular around Corvallis, and it will be as interesting to see which one does the best job of that as it will be to see if Ryan Katz or Steven Threet does the better job of putting their team mates in position to make plays.

It's October, and that normally means Riley's team takes off. But based on how well Arizona St. showed against highly ranked teams the last two weeks, I think this game depends on James Rodgers, who has passed all the post-concussion tests, but hasn't been declared available by Riley. Especially because of his impact on special teams. If Riley is playing games with Erickson, and James plays his full package, I anticipate a 34-27 Oregon St. win. If James sits, I see a 27-23 Sun Devil upset. 

Jake

The Beavers need to win this game. Oregon State's losses to TCU and Boise State have shown that the Beavers are knocking on the door-- OSU needs to break through and win games like this. Arizona State is one heck of a team behind quarterback Steven Threet, but the OSU defense needs to prove they can compete against a Pac-10 offense. It will be interesting to see if this offense can function if James doesn't play-- it will be a test to see how good the likes of Aaron Nichols, Jordan Bishop, and Darrell Catchings are. 

OSU's non-conference schedule was supposed to prepare the teams for big games. This is the first Pac-10 game of the season for the Beavers, but it sure feels like a big one. Somethings tells me we will know a lot more about this team by the end of the day. 

Continue reading this post »

Boise State's 37-24 victory over Oregon State wasn't the only victory for the blue and orange-- it also meant that OBNUG won the friendly "Blog Bet" we laid down before the game. 

For winning, they get a free post on Building the Dam. Here it is: 

Scene: Kellen Moore, Doug Martin, and OBNUG are in line at College GameDay.

Martin: Man, what a turnout.

Moore: Yeah, this is a great day for Boise State University. They must be so proud.

OBNUG: Check it out, guys. My sign says "Mark May eats turd burgers."

Just then an ESPN producer approaches the three men.

ESPN producer: Thank goodness I found you. There is a major problem on set. Our segment on Ryan Mallet being a good quarterback got pulled because it was pretty much a complete lie. Now we need to fill a good 15 minutes of the program. Can you help us?

Moore: Absolutely.

Martin: Yeah, sure thing.

OBNUG: Happy to help.

ESPN producer: Oh, not you. I don't know who you are.

Moore: He's with us. I think it's a Make-A-Wish sort of thing.

ESPN producer: Fine. Everyone, follow me.

The producer rushes Moore, Martin, and OBNUG backstage to make-up and wardrobe. The producer briefs them on the segment.

ESPN producer: OK, here's how we want things going down. Kellen, you are going to have an open question-and-answer session, anything goes. Doug, you are going to do push ups for 15 minutes. Pale skinny kid, your job is to stay off camera.

Continue reading this post »

Arizona State is a team that many people picked to finish near the bottom of the conference this season. That still may be the case, but through four weeks, the Sun Devils have shown glimpses of greatness.

After two relatively easy wins over Portland State (54-9) and Northern Arizona (41-20), ASU traveled to Wisconsin where they hung with the 11th-ranked Badgers. Arizona State trailed by three at halftime and could have tied the game in the fourth quarter if it wasn't for a blocked extra point. ASU lost 20-19.

2007 Lou Groza Award Winner Thomas Weber has struggled for the Sun Devils this season. He missed that extra point against Wisconsin, and missed a field goal against Oregon this weekend.

Speaking of the Oregon game-- ASU also gave them a run for their money. Junior quarterback Steven Threet has been a huge asset for Dennis Erickson's team this year, but has gotten into trouble by throwing interceptions. Aganst the Ducks, he threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns, but threw four picks in the process. He had 232 of those yards by halftime, where ASU trailed 28-24. 

Arizona State has proven they can compete in the Pac-10. They've been playing like a focused group that has a chip on their shoulder, but they haven't done enough to break through in their two marquee matchups with top-15 teams.

Erickson has been utilizing a new offensive scheme in which he places two running backs alongside Threet in shotgun. One of the backs goes in motion before the snap, a move that the ASU staff hope stretches the opposing linebackers. With Dwight Roberson potentially out with an injury this week, that could mean trouble for an Oregon State defense that is already struggling. Plus, Threet is a mobile quarterback who has proven he can make plays on the run. 

Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 PM on Saturday.

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

No. 24 Oregon State at No. 3 Boise State

5:00 PM PT, ABC

The GameDay show has come and gone. It's time to play the game!

The Beavers know they have their work cut out for them today, but they've been there before. The Beavers knocked of USC when they were ranked No. 1 in 2008 and No. 3 in 2006, as well as a No. 2 ranked California team in 2007. But Boise State hasn't lost a non-conference game at home in nine years. 

Preview Material from Building the Dam:

Oregon State/ Boise State: Final Pregame Thoughts and Open Thread

Game Preview: Oregon State, Boise State Set to Tangle on ABC

Podcast: Building the Dam and OBNUG Preview Saturday's Game

Oregon State Depth Chart for Boise State

Andy, Connor, and myself will all be inside Bronco Stadium for the game. Those of you watching on ABC, we invite you to converse in the comment thread during the game. I'll be checking in periodically on my phone-- you can also follow along on my Twitter feed you see to the right. 

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Oregon State at Boise State - 5PM PT, ABC

Gameday is finally here-- which means it's time to share our final thoughts on the game. Andy and I bring you the conversation, and we get a guest appearance from Figgi4life (Update: and RVM!), as well. 

Andy: For Oregon State to be successful against Boise State, the defense is going to have to get upfield and deny the Broncos an area of comfort to operate. The Beavers actually did a pretty good job against the Louisville run, in that Bilal Powell was held to just 83 yards. The problems were that he did get some good gains on the most important plays, and that quarterback Adam Froman also had some crucial runs, whether they went as runs or sprint out passes. Kellen Moore isn't the same as TCU's Andy Dalton, as far as his tendency to run, but he will take advantage of easy chunks of yardage. And he will continually look for opportunities underneath against the Beaver secondary, especially after watching the Louisville game tape.

The number of sacks Oregon St. does or does not get isn't that important; the Beavers can be in the game, and very possibly win, without sacking Moore. But they must pressure him and his receivers. The stat that will matter will be hurries, with sacks a bonus. Austin Pettis and Titus Young are not a big concern if Moore can't get the ball to them in a catchable manner.

Jake: Not only will the defensive front need to pressure the quarterback, the secondary will have to stop up and not be beat by Pettis and Young. Cornerback James Dockery even admitted that he was beat on the pass he intercepted to seal OSU's win last week against Louisville. While you can attribute that pick to the defensive pressure, we can't expect to hurry Moore every time he drops back-- it just isn't going to happen. For that reason, Dockery and Hardin need to be able to defend Boise State's speedsters in one-on-one situations. 

Continue reading this post »

All of our eyes are set on the blue turf, but if you feel like catching some other games, here's the lineup:

UCLA at Texas (ABC/ESPN, 12:30pm)

Oregon State at Boise State (ABC, 5pm)

Stanford at Notre Dame (NBC, 3:30pm)

California at Arizona (FSN Regional, 7pm)

Oregon at Arizona State (FSN, 7:30pm)

USC at Washington State (FSN NW, 12pm)

Here are other games worth watching (or at least following, if you can't get them on TV):

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

The long awaited day is here-- Oregon State is in Boise, along with the ESPN GameDay crew. 

The schedule (all times Pacific):

4:30am: Gates open

6:00am: GameDay begins on ESPNU

7:00am: GameDay continues on ESPN

The show is anchored by Chris Fowler. Analysts include Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard, while Erin Andrews anchors segments in the first hour and contributes in the other two hours.

Who is Corso going to pick? Will Connor make it on TV? Discuss all that and more in the thread below. 

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

No. 24 Oregon State at No. 3 Boise State 

Saturday, September 25, 5:00, ABC (Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, and Erin Andrews)

Oregon State will try to draw on their "Giant Killer" heritage Saturday as they invade Bronco Stadium and the blue turf in hopes of throwing a wrench into the national championship conversation. The Beavers are ranked No. 24 in the polls, but OSU fans know that much needs to come together to give No. 3 Boise State a run for their money. 

You see, Oregon State is a team that starts slow under Mike Riley, and this year seems to be no different. The Beavers are 1-1 entering the weekend and had a chance to defeat TCU in Cowboys Stadium. But in reality, OSU has relied a lot on luck in both of those games, and needed to get a lot better this week. 

In three of the last four years, Oregon State has notched a marquee win against a top-tier opponent. In 2006, they defeated No. 3 USC 33-31 and in 2008, they defeated the then-No.1 ranked Trojans 27-21 behind 186 yards from Jacquizz Rodgers. Both of those games in Corvallis, but the Beavers did beat No. 2 ranked California 31-28 on the road in Berkeley back in 2007. 

The Beavers have a knack for winning games like this. My concern? Those games, for the most part, came in the middle of the season, when Oregon State tends to roll. The 2008 win against USC came on September 25, but the '06 USC game was in late October, and the Beavers beat Cal in mid-October. 

Continue reading this post »

Oregon State at Boise State - 5:00 pm Saturday, ABC

I got together with Drew and Nick from One Bronco Nation Under God (OBNUG) to preview tomorrow's game in podcast format. We talk about the mood of the respective fanbases, the Rodgers brothers, offense and defensive concerns, and more. Have a listen:

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

The biggest difference in Oregon State's depth chart between this week and last week is the loss of redshirt freshman special teams standout Dax Dilbeck, who tore a ligament in his left knee in the Louisville game. He was listed third on the depth chart at safety behind Lance Mitchell and Josh LaGrone, but played a considerable amount on special teams. 

Other than that, the depth chart remains similar, although we're likely to see the defense substitute liberally on the defensive line and at linebacker, especially. 

Here's the place to talk about Oregon State's personnel heading into Saturday. 

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Continue reading this post »

A few quick bullets to get your Tuesday started:

Blue turf. The big news of Monday was the 440 gallons of blue paint that was sprayed onto the Tommy Prothro practice field. The team will practice on it for the first time later today. I posted a video earlier in the day yesterday, and also snapped the photo below the finished product. The OSU athletic department now has a video up showing the painting process. 

Oregon St. Coach Mike Riley explained the practice schedule, noting that the offense needs to hear noise, while the defense needs to see blue. So the Beavers will start in the stadium, working on special teams, because that's where the turf is, and the kickers need that. Then they will move up to the blue grass for a while, and the defense will stay there, as the offense moves back into Reser, because, as Riley explained, that's the only place they can really practice with noise.

"It's a sign of the significance, the bigness of the game," Riley said of the extent of the special preparation efforts. "But also, its fun!"

The stats aren't pretty. With the team taking yesterday off, stats was about the only other thing worth talking about-- along with the turf. Buker takes the first look--- we'll get more into this later in the week.  

Checking in on the polls. In the AP Poll, the Beavers move up a spot to #24, but are still left out of the USA Today poll (#28, if you read the fine print). Boise State sits at #3 in both rankings. 

Get your signs ready. ESPN Gameday is getting their plans worked out for Saturday's show. The show will be filmed outside Bronco Stadium on Friday night, then moved inside for the morning show. Gates will open at 5:30am to fans. Rehearsal starts at six, the show hits ESPNU at 7am, and coverage moves to ESPN for two hours starting at 8am. 

Bronco fans, behave yourselves. With so much attention focused on Boise State this week, the university and athletic department are reminding fans of the importance of sportsmanship this week. OBNUG chimes in, suggesting that fans use the "Would Coach Pete approve?" rule this weekend. 

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Ran past the Tommy Prothro Football Complex on my morning jog today, and found the OSU football maintenance crew painting the practice field blue. Video below, still images after the jump. 

The paint was donated by an anonymous donor, we've heard. 

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Continue reading this post »

The stage has been set.

For the second time in this young season, Oregon State is set to do battle with a top-ten opponent on national television.

Just over two weeks ago, it was No. 25 OSU heading into Cowboys Stadium to give TCU a run for their money. This week, No. 24 OSU is headed to Boise with aspirations of putting a kink in the National Championship conversation.

Boise State is 2-0 on the year after wins over Virginia Tech and Wyoming. They return 22 of the 24 starters from a team that went undefeated a year ago and won the Fiesta Bowl. This year, they're set on bursting into the National Championship game, and the Beavers are the last legitimate threat remaining on the schedule.

But in order for the Beavers to have a shot to win come Saturday, some things still need to be cleaned up.

Adam Froman completed 22 of 38 passes against the Beaver defense for 288 yards on Saturday. He rushed for another 46, while Louisville combined to rush for 165 yards. The Beavers can't afford to give up nearly 500 yards of offense again.

Jacquizz Rodgers finally established himself with a 132-yard performance. He'll need another big day in Boise to keep the trend going.

While there is legitimate reason for Beaver fans to be worried about Boise State after watching OSU against TCU and Louisville, Riley continues to trust his process.

"If we can continue to get better and work, then we can go over and give Boise a good game and do everything we can to win it."

That all starts today, as the team begins practice for Saturday's clash on the Smurf Turf.

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Coach Mike Riley

"It's good to win. We'll take that every time. We don't really have to qualify it until tomorrow. When we look at it, we'll look at things to do differently and better. I was proud of the win, and I was appreciative of how Louisville came and played. That was a good looking team and they played very efficiently. They played better than Kentucky for most of that game they lost. They had me worried. They had a good runner, a good quarterback, and big guys up front today that made plays. They dropped balls against Kentucky but they made those plays today. They made a ton of plays."

"Froman is a good player. He gets rid of the ball and escapes from the pocket to get first downs. He extended plays and made throws. It was an impressive outing by him. They got into the Wildcat and made a bunch of plays in that. They did a very nice job today, we just luckily had more points than them. Probably the special teams area was the difference in the game. 

On James Rodgers' and his 243 all-purpose yards...

"We had a couple of chances to come out of our end zone but we didn't execute until Ryan made a throw and James made a catch to move us out. We were able to take enough time after that to make them use their timeouts and take time off the clock.  

On Jacquizz Rodgers...

"That's more like it, we can do better yet. I don't think we were good enough on third down and that's where Quizz does a lot for us. He made a couple of those today but we can do better than that. Besides that, the combination of running and catching was good. We need to get our screen game going, but we hit one good one today."

Continue reading this post »

Oregon State Beavers 35, Louisville Cardinals 28

It wasn't as emphatic of a victory as we all hoped it would be, but Oregon State did enough to win on Saturday as they knocked off Louisville 35-28. Post all your thoughts on today's game in the thread below. 

Instant Game Recap

The first quarter was one to forget for Oregon State. The Beavers were dominated in almost every aspect of the game except on the scoreboard. Louisville had 127 yards of total offense in the quarter, Oregon State had 27. Bilal Powell and Adam Froman each had more yards individually than the entire OSU offense combined. 

Oregon State's lone touchdown of the first quarter came after a 28 yard punt return by James Rodgers. This gave Ryan Katz the ball in prime field position, and he hooked up with Joe Halahuni for a three yard score. 

Froman was able to rush for a 17-yard score to even the score at seven. Jacquizz Rodgers and Bilal Powell would then exchange touchdown runs on long drives to even the score with 8:41 remaining in the second quarter. 

Continue reading this post »

Beaver Football is back in Corvallis!

Oregon State hosts Louisville of the Big East today in the second half of a home-and-home series. Louisville won the first meeting back in 2005... but we've forgotten about that, and we're moving on. 

The Cardinals are now under first-year head coach Charlie Strong-- a former Florida assistant-- and have a roster that lacks depth after several years of sub-par recruiting. 

After their season opening loss to TCU, the Beavers need to bounce back in a big way with a win. 

Many of the regulars here will be at the game today (unfortunately, I am not..) so I expect this thread to be lighter than usual. But for those of us who will be online during the game.... let's go!!!

All your game-related comments go below.

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

Uncertain what to think about today's game? Read below as four members of the Building the Dam community share their final pregame thoughts. 

Jake 

With s o much time to prepare for an opponent expected to finish near the bottom of the Big East, the Beavers need to come out and put an emphatic win on the board today. I'll take any kind of win, sure, but the Beavers can't afford not to make a statement today. Jacquizz Rodgers needs to get out of his three game slump with a big performance, and the Beavers need to show that they've made adjustments after the loss to TCU. 

Andy

We will see the effects of two weeks of practice, almost a second camp, on the field. Ryan Katz will continue to show progress in both what he does, and how he does it. So too will the defense, though Louisville will test it at times. But the difference will be that it is time for a big game from Jacquizz Rodgers, who will break his three game stretch of not running for 100 yards, and the Beavers not winning. 'Quizz is a difference maker, and today, he makes the difference. Oregon St. 34 Louisville 20.

RVM

My feeling of this game is that it is indeed a "must win" situation. I personally feel also that it is essential to the Beavs overall conference run chances to win with some authority too. The TCU game set the stage that this team can compete, but it also ended up being this kind-of neither here nor there type of losses. Good showing against a good team, but I also feel it was there for the taking and improvement of course needs to be made. That said this Louisville game is much more there for the taking and OSU needs to look good winning, not only for the attention of the media (and Quizz's Heisman hopes), but as I mentioned in some other previous comments the establishing of a team swagger/identity that will carry over to Beaver Nation. The Pac-10 is winnable with the talent this team seems to have, BUT it won't be easy with the talent other teams have displayed so far. The mental game is going to be as important as the raw talent game for this team. And as I have said a few times before: It is time for this team and football program to step it up to the next level. As such I am VERY much looking forward to attending this game (we'll be in the Northwest corner section). Rain? Who cares! Getting to see the Rodgers brothers and Katz live is going to be great!

Figgi4life

In this game, I'll be looking for Oregon State's run defense to show up. It's the perfect oppurtunity; below average quarterback with a good running back. Stopping their running game and forcing Froman to throw would be a huge advantage for the Beavs in a game that they're already favored in.

On offense, I want to see Quizz and the O-Line prove that their performance vs. TCU was because they were playing the #1 Defense in the country. And Katz, please, PLEASE, throw the ball to Quizz sometimes.

----

Enjoy the game! Kickoff is at 2:30 PT on FSN-NW. 

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)

The Beavers have a must-win game at home today, but if you have some spare time today, the Pac-10 has a great slate of games for you to consume. Below you will find the ten Pac-10 games, followed by national games of interest. Consider this your stopping point for all college football discussion today!

Nebraska at Washington (ABC/ESPN2, 12:30)

Washington State at SMU (CBS College, 12:30)

Arizona State at Wisconsin (ABC/ESPN2, 12:30)

USC at Minnesota (ESPN, 12:30)

Louisville at Oregon State (FSN, 2:30)

Portland State at Oregon (CSN-NW, 3:15)

Wake Forest at Stanford (ESPN2, 7:15)

Houston at UCLA (FSN, 7:30)

Iowa at Arizona (ESPN, 7:30)

Here are other games worth watching (or at least following, if you can't get them on TV):

And if even that's not enough, here's the complete lineup.

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com

As usual, let's take a few minutes to see what Oregon State's next few opponents are up to today. 

September 25, in Boise

Boise State at Wyoming (CBS College, 8pm) 

Everyone is calling today's matchup with Louisville Oregon State's trap game-- is this Boise State's trap game? The Broncos will travel to Laramie, where the wind and altitude sometimes make things interesting. Boise State has the depth to substitute liberally, and has Wyoming outmatched on paper. When you give Chris Peterson an extra week to prepare, the Broncos are nearly unbeatable. Next week: Oregon State

October 2, in Corvallis

Arizona State at Wisconsin (ABC/ESPN2, 12:30)

Finally, a non-FCS opponent for the Sun Devils. The Badgers are knocking on the door of being a top contender this season, but they haven't looked unflappable in their two wins against UNLV and San Diego State. Steven Threet and Arizona State will now try to present another challenge today. The key to this one for the Sun Devils will be slowing down Wisconsin's running backs, because the Badgers are 22-2 in the last three seasons when they rush for over 200 yards, which as you can see, they do regularly. Next week: Oregon

October 9, in Tucson

Arizona at Iowa (ESPN, 7:30PM)

This is the first big road test of the year for the Wildcats, and a matchup of two undefeated teams. Nic Grigsby and the offensive line should be able to establish the running game-- the Huskers have been giving up around five yards per rushing attempt through their first two games. The Wildcats will need production on the ground because tight end Rob Gronkowski is out, and Delashaun Dean is dealing with a hamstring injury. Both teams need this win to put an exclamation mark on their non-conference schedule, and the team that controls the clock with their running game will do it.  Next week: Iowa

October 16, in Seattle

Washington vs. Nebraska (ABC/ESPN2, 12:30PM)

The Huskies are going to need a big day from Chris Polk and their offensive line, because establishing the running game is the best way to beat Nebraska. I'm interested to see how Washington's defense handle's the Husker rush--which has some similarities to Oregon's zone-read attack. If Nebarska is able to run on Washington on the ground it won't necessarily provide a blueprint for Oregon State to use, but it will expose a weakness that Oregon State can hopefully exploit. Next week: Bye (USC is next)

--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)